Lean on Me
by Miss Barbara
Summary: Ziva needs a friend and Tim is there for her.


McGiva friendship, as requested by valerie when she guessed my hangman puzzle!

Title: Lean on me.  
Summary: Ziva needs a friend, and Tim is there for her.  
Rating: FR13  
Genre: Friendship  
Pairings: McGiva friendship  
Spoilers: None  
Thanks to Sherry for inspiring me to write McGiva and Caroline for beta reading. It wouldn't be half as good with her.

Ziva sighed, she had known since she got up this morning that it would be an awful day, not only because was it the twenty-second of March, but it was also raining cats and dogs.

She drove to work without music and didn't wait for the traffic lights to change to green. She didn't even greet the guard at the entrance to the Navy Yard.

Gibbs shot her a look when she walked in to the bullpen, but decided to leave her alone. Tony, on the other hand, had to go poking and prodding. In less than two minutes, Ziva had him on the floor, squirming and begging her to let him go. She did after he promised that he wouldn't talk to her the rest of the day.

McGee had greeted her, and even gotten her tea when he went for coffee himself, but he decided to let it be.

That made Ziva happy. At least as happy as she could be on a day like this.

There were no new cases so they worked cold cases all day long, yet another thing that Ziva hated.

At 12:03 the lights started flickering.

At 12:04 the power failed, making every agent in the squad room yell in frustration. The backup generator for MTAC, the lab and autopsy kicked in, but there was no supply for the bullpen or the other areas in the building.

That was the final straw for Ziva; she kicked her chair away and walked down the stairs to the gym, hoping to get rid of some frustration.

After 1 hour and 26 seconds the power kicked back in and Gibbs came to collect Ziva. She was sweating, tired and had kicked every agents butt, but she was still really frustrated.

"Are you ok, Ziva?" he asked her. She just nodded once and looked back to the agent who was on the opposite side of the fighting ring.

Gibbs ordered her to take a shower, get it back together and get in the bullpen.

He walked off, wondering what the hell was wrong with Ziva.

The rest of the day went by without anything worth mention happening and Ziva was really happy that she could go home at five.

McGee had left early, whispering something to Gibbs. But Ziva hadn't paid attention.

She almost caused an accident on her way home, but she couldn't care less. She drove, no, she raced, to her apartment. She parked her car and then dropped her bag off inside her apartment.

She grabbed her wallet and walked over to the grocery store on the other side of the street.

Ice cream wasn't usually on her list, but she bought a container anyway. Skipping the healthy things all together she also bought chocolate cookies and some candy bars. She bought a package of frozen lasagna which had to do as dinner.

On her way back her apartment she tore into the package of cookies and started eating. She was usually a person that liked exercise more than comfort food, but she already had a session in the gym this afternoon and it hadn't done the trick, so she was trying this one now.

She dropped everything on her kitchen counter and took off her shoes. Dropping the ice cream in the fridge and putting the lasagna in the microwave she made her way through the kitchen and dropped herself on the couch.

She grabbed the television remote and flipped through the channels. Tony had convinced her that she needed a television, but she still wasn't convinced that her life was that much better now.

Her microwave beeped as a sign that the lasagna was ready, but before she could get to the microwave, there was someone knocking on her front door.

She walked over and looked through the peephole.

"Open up Ziva, I know you are there. You car is parked outside."

She sighed and opened the door.

"I am really not in the mood for company, McGee" she sighed. "I am irritated, tired and not to mention extremely unpleasant to be around".

"So I've noticed," McGee answered. "I made us some dinner, then we can talk about it".

Ziva smiled at him the way you smile at your younger brother when he is saying something stupid. "That is very sweet of you," she smiled "but I am not in a talking mood'.

McGee looked at her, still the same smile on his face. "No talking, but don't tell me that you would like to skip dinner to."

She walked away from the door without saying another word, and grabbed plates, forks, knives and spoons before she walked over to the table.

McGee smiled secretively and closed the door with his left foot. He was in. Time for part two of his plan.

He had made mashed potatoes with cheese, a salad and two pork chops. Not really that special, but it was nice and Ziva liked this more than her microwave food.

McGee chatted away during the meal, talking about Jethro and how he had scared his landlord, and about his latest computer game, pretending not to notice how quiet Ziva was.

After they finished dinner, they cleaned up together. Ziva made them coffee and McGee waited at her couch. When she handed him his coffee he motioned her to sit down. He placed his coffee on her table and took her hand in his.

"I know Ziva." The look on her face changed to the blank expression she always wore when she didn't want anyone to know that she was hurt or felt vulnerable".

"What do you know?" She asked him trying to save herself, but she knew that he knew.

"It was sixteen years ago today that Tali died in the explosion".

She opened her mouth to say something but he silenced her with a look. "I looked it up; there was a news article about it. You must feel horrible that you cannot go and visit her grave".

Ziva's expression changed in to a soft one. "You are so sweet." she whispered.

"Well, I know I would go crazy if I couldn't go visit my grandmother's grave, so I thought about something for you. If you put on a coat and your shoes. I am taking you somewhere."

She wanted to argue, but something in his eyes made her change her mind. She just obeyed him. He guided her to his car and they drove without another word.

After half an hour they stopped and McGee got out of the car, grabbed a bouquet of flowers from the backseat. He grabbed her hand and guided her up the stairs to some kind of monument.

"This monument is for every victim of the war," he explained. "It is for everyone, everywhere. So it is for Tali too."

He hugged her briefly, handed her the flowers and walked back to his car, giving her some privacy.

He watched her smashing the flowers on the statue, he watched her sinking to the ground and finally he watched her cry.

The sunset colored everything in a warm orange color, but before McGee's eyes was one of the most heartbreaking things ever.

When the sun had set completely, hours later, he walked back to her. She was sobbing uncontrollably.

He picked her up, which was easy thanks to her petite frame and his private gym instructor, and walked her to his car. She held on to him for dear life and wouldn't let go when he was placing her in the passenger seat.

"Ziva, you have to let me go now," he whispered in her ear. It took her a minute but she released him. He walked to the other side of the car and drove to her house in silence. The only thing heard was Ziva's sobbing and sniffing.

He parked his car next to hers and walked over to her side to open the door. When she didn't make a move to get out of the car he simply picked her up again and carried her to her apartment. He grabbed the key out of her pocket, making him feel a little uncomfortable but she wasn't make a move to do it, and he wasn't strong enough to hold her forever.

Tim carried her to the bedroom and placed her on her bed. Instead of letting him go she pulled him down so that he was lying on the bed next to her. She snuggled close to him and continued to cry.

He didn't know what to do, so he kicked off his shoes and continued to hold her, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

After a while the sobbing slowed until eventually she was completely quiet. McGee thought that she had fallen asleep, but when he tried to leave Ziva sat up.

"I am sorry," she said, her voice thick with emotions.

"Don't be," McGee answered. "You needed a friend and I'm glad that I could help you with this." She wiped the tears out of her eyes and her mouth showed a little watery smile.

"Can I tell you some things about Tali?" she asked him. Her mind screamed to her that she shouldn't because sharing emotions was not a good thing, as taught to her by the Mossad, but her heart told her that sharing things with McGee would make it a lot easier.

"Always," he answered her. He motioned her to stay on the bed while he took her shoes off. He disappeared in to the kitchen and came back a few seconds later with a glass of water and a handful of tissues.

"There you go" he said while handing her the glass of water. She gratefully took a sip and sat up against the headboard of her bed.

She took a tissue to blow her nose.

Tim sat back on the bed and grabbed her hand, giving her a little encouraging nod.

"Our mother died when she was 6, so I raised her. Sometimes she felt more like my child that my sister."

Tears came welling up in her eyes and she dried them off with a tissue.

She told him about her favorite things, about her favorite song and how she hated the color grey.

He laughed at her anecdotes and tried to hide a sob when she told him about the funeral.

At some point during her story she had started to cry again, but he just held her and comforted her while she continued to talk.

Her words became more slurred and after a little while she just fell asleep. Tim smiled at her, tucked her in and kissed her on the temple.

He wrote her a little note and left it on her nightstand.

When Ziva entered the bullpen next morning Tim was happy to see that she had a smile on her face again.

She walked over to his desk and kissed him on the cheek, making Tony stare.

Ziva handed him an envelope and walked to her desk.

McGee smiled to her and ignored Tony. He opened the envelope and he found a letter.

It was a thank you, an invitation to one of her homemade dinners and the promise that she would return the favor if necessary, but she hoped that it wouldn't be.

He smiled at her and put the letter back in his envelop.

His IM blinked and he opened it.

'I am happy that you are my friend.'

He smiled and replied to her.

'I am honored that I may call you a friend.'


End file.
